Oar supports



May 12 1959 F. P. SAUER, JR

OAR SUPPORTS Filed May 22, 1957 INVENTOR. FRED P. SAUER JR.

PARKER & CARTER AT TO R NEYS a boat or skifi for retaining the oars.tion when they are not in use.

My invention relates to oar supports, and more particularly to supportsto be attached to the gunwale of in a clamped posi- Many types of carrests are presently being usedfor supporting the oars whenthey are notin use, whichare clamped to the gunwale of the boat, such supportscommonly employed for resting the oars thereon, so that the oars areinsecurely held, and, can easily become dislodged by accident.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a simple andefiicient means for securing the blades of the oars when the oars arenot being used, and without disturbing the oarlocks, so that the oarscannot be accidentally dislodged.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the characterdescribed that will enable the occupant of the boat to place the cars ina clamped position, or to release them from the clamped position by asingle manipulation of the oar handles.

Other and further objects of my invention will become more apparent asthe description proceeds, when taken in conjunction with the drawings,in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a boat, showing a devicemade in accordance with the invention, fixed to and outside of thegunwale of the boat, and with an oar blade secured by said device;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the device of the inventionshown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end view of the device of Figure 1, showing the oar bladein phantom, resting in the device, but before being secured thereby;

Figure 4 is a view similar to that of Figure 3, but in which the oarblade is secured in the device to keep it from being dislodged;

Figure 5 is a cross-section of a modified form of the device having anadjustable hook portion to accommodate the device to various widths ofblades;

Figure 6 is a modified form of the device wherein the base thereof ishinged to a supporting bracket adapted to be permanently attached to thegunwale of the boat and arranged so that the device may be swunginwardly over the gunwale when the device is not in use; and

Figure 7 is a side view taken on lines 7-7 of Figure 6, showing thescrew arrangement and the hinged portion of the clamp.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views and referring now to the form of device shown inFigures 1 to 4, the principal part of the device consists of a generallyU-shaped body or cradle 10, with spaced outer and inner upright legs 10'and 10", and having an integral clamp member 11 extending from the innerside 10 consisting of a smaller, inverted U-shaped member adapted to fitover the gunwale of the boat, shown in phantom at 12. The free end ofthe clamp portion 11 is provided with a threaded clamp screw 14 forretaining the entire body of the de- United States Patentv O vice inposition on the gunwale. The outer leg 10 of the body portion 10 has adownwardly and inwardly opening hook portion 15 at its upper end. Saidhook portion is also disposed at an angle at a suitable point 16 fromthe outer leg 10' intermediate the ends of the latter.

The bottom of the body portion 10 has a centrally disposed guide oraperture 17 through which a guide pin 18 is slidably mounted, with ahead 19 at its lower end. The upper end of the pin 18 has a cross plate20 fixed thereto as by threading. Said cross plate is V-shapedtransversely of the body 10 and has its outer sides slidably engagedbetween the legs 10' and 10" below the outwardly diverged hoop portion15. Spring 21 encircles the pin 18 between the cross plate and thebottom of the body portion. When the V-plate 20 is in its normalposition,ias shown in Figure 3, it is possible to rest the lower edge ofan oar blade 22 in the V of said plate, and

by applying pressure it is possible to force the V plate 20 downwardagainst the resilient action of the spring 21 so as to move the upperedge of the oar blade 22 into engagement within the hook portion 15.

Although the oar is shown as being supported at its blade portion, theshape of the hook 15 may be such as to accommodate the round portion 23of the car at any chosen point adjacent the blade end of the oar.

In order to accommodate oars of various widths at the blade portion, thehook portion may be adjustable as shown in Figure 5 wherein the hookportion 15' is provided with the :bolt 24, and the adjacent leg 10 ofthe body has a longitudinal slot 25 with a bolt 24 passing through saidslot and a washer 26 and a threaded nut 27 on the end of said bolt sothat the hook portion 15' may be adjusted to any desired position toaccommodate variations in width of an oar blade 22.

In the illustrative form of the device shown in Figures 1 and 3, it isapplied to the outer side of the gunwale of a boat, but it will beunderstood that it can also be applied to the inner side of the gunwale,if desired.

Figures 6 and 7 show a modified form of the device in which a securingportion 28 is permanently attached to the gunwale of the boat 12 byscrews 29 or in any other convenient manner, and the upper portion ofthe securing portion 28 has upwardly extending members 30 forming a partof a hinge mounting including a pin 31 extending through the hingemembers 30 for supporting the body portion 10 of the device. With thisform of the device, it may be brought upward and inward so that thedevice will be disposed inboard, as shown in phantoms in Figure 6,instead of outside of the boat when the oars are being used or the skiffis being propelled. Although in the illustrative form of the deviceshown herein, it is normally disposed outside of a boat, it will beunderstood that it can also be mounted inside of the gunwale, ifdesired.

The device is exceedingly simple and can be constructed to be easilyapplied to and removed from the gunwale of boats or skifis of manykinds.

Although I have shown certain embodiments of the invention, it will beunderstood that other modifications of the invention may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, as defined in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. A supporting device for oars, a cradle member having spaced uprightside legs, clamping means on one side leg of said cradle adapted forattachment to the gunwale of a boat, a depending hook member at theupper end of one of the side legs of said cradle member, and a supportconsisting of a generally V-shaped cross plate with its outer endsslidably engaged between the opposed legs of the cradle member, saidsupport being adapted for vertical movement between the side legs of thecradle downwardly under'manual pressure applied to the handle of thecar, but permitting the oar to (be moved into securing position beneaththe hook member and to be yieldably held in the latter position whenmanualpressure on the oar handletis released.

2. A Isupportingdevice for oars, a cradle member having spaced uprightside legs, clamping means on one side leg of saidcradle adapted forattachment to the gunwale of 2a .boat, a depending hook member at theupper end of one of the side legs of said cradle member, a cross plate:support for an oar slidably engaged between the opposed legs of thecradle member, and adapted 'for vertical movement in the space betweensaid legs, and a spring interposed between the bottom of said plate andthe lower end of the cradle member, said spring exerting an upward 'biason said cross plate, but adapted to permit .said cross plate to yielddownwardly under manual pressure applied to the handle of the oar whilebiasing the cross plate and oar supported thereon into securing positionbeneath said hook member so that the car is yieldably held between thehook member and the cross plate whenmanual pressure on the oar handle isreleased.

'3. The structure of "claim'z wherein the cross plate is generallyV-shaped and said spring is in the form of an upstanding coil springinterposed beneath the lower surface of said plate and the-. lowerportion of said cradle member.

4. The structure of claim 2 wherein the hook member and the adjacentupper end portion of the side leg on which said hook member is disposedare inclined upwardly and outwardly from the opposite side leg of thecradle member.

5. The structure of claim 2 wherein the lower portions of the legs ofsaid cradle member extend generally parallel totone another to form aguide for said cross plate while the upper portion of the side leg onwhich said hook member is disposed is inclined upwardly and outwardlyfrom the opposite side leg of the cradle member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

